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Data Breach

Attorney vs. chatbot advice

Bimal Saraiya · September 18, 2017 ·

Can an attorney be replaced by a chatbot?

A “robot lawyer” chatbot, available in all 50 states since July, is promising to help you sue Equifax for the data breach without hiring a lawyer. I wrote about the data breach last week, and pointed out the controversy over the arbitration clause that has since been resolved. This has opened up the ability for anyone affected to sue Equifax. Should you and what kind of advice do you need?

Initiating a lawsuit is not something to be taken lightly. It can be expensive, stressful, and time-consuming. Small claims courts exist to minimize these hurdles, but unfortunately it’s not like Judge Judy. There are still forms, procedures, hearings, arguing, and the pesky law.

Enter the chatbot

This chatbot was initially created to help defend against parking tickets. The creator claims that the bot can now handle 1,000 different issues. It simply asks you a few questions and creates forms or letters for you to print and sign. In the case of suing Equifax, it drafts a small claims petition and gives you some basic information on what to do with it.

Regrettably, as I’ve written before, lawyering is a lot more complex than just filling out forms.

Don’t shortcut the process

When I first meet a client, I typically spend an hour or two with them to fully understand the issue and their needs and goals. I ask a lot of questions. Many times, things come to light that the client didn’t think was important or relevant. Without a firm grasp of all of the fact and circumstances, advice could be wrong or incomplete. A bot can’t make the same inferences and logical leaps an attorney can. It can’t tell you everything you need to know based on a few typed questions and answers.

Even worse, a bot won’t ask you detailed questions that may change the equation entirely. About 1/3 of the time, I find myself explaining to a potential client that while they can proceed in the manner they envision, they shouldn’t. In these cases the action won’t culminate in their desired result or worse, may adversely affect their long-term goals.

As a software developer, I’m well aware of the advances in artificial intelligence. But we’re still a long way from a bot fully understanding the nuances of case-law, human emotion, practicality, and how it all relates to a given set of facts.

And then what?

So you decide to take matters into your own hands. You’ve used a bot and researched the issue online. You’ve figured out that you need to fill out a form and file it. And then what? What are you going to do with this form? Does it need to be filed? Does it need to be served? What if the other party refuses to respond? What if there’s a hearing – do you know what to argue and how? Do you know all the rules to make sure that even if you win, it can’t be set aside because you didn’t follow all the proper procedures?

There are a lot of things you can do yourself. Even in the legal world. There are routing things that really do involve just filing out a form and mailing it in. For example, if you own a home in Texas, you should make sure you file a Homestead Exemption Application. You absolutely do not need an attorney for that.

But if you have a dispute or don’t understand a contract or just don’t know your rights, an attorney can be a valuable ally in helping you protect your interests.

I ain’t afraid of no bots

(Apologies to Ray Parker, Jr.)

To be clear, I’m not afraid of a bot. I don’t arbitrarily dislike online legal services because it’s competition. I’m all for increased access to the law for all people, and I wish more people were able to solve problems without having to dive into legal intricacies, procedures, and bureaucracy. But a neutral advocate who can holistically guide you can be an invaluable asset in solving your problem.

You get what you pay for

While this isn’t always the case, it is true more often than not. Free legal advice is sometimes worth exactly what you paid. Sometimes, it can be worth even less. If you take an action that’s not allowable at law, you can not only lose whatever expenses you incurred, you may even be ordered to pay the fees of the other party.

If you have a legal question or issue, call us to see if we can help. We’re located in Plano, TX and represent clients throughout Collin County. We handle business matters, estate planning matters, contracts, trademarks, real-estate transactions, and more. If you have issues that extend to California or Colorado, we can help – we’re licensed there too.

Equifax Musings – Handling an epic data breach

Bimal Saraiya · September 11, 2017 ·

Thoughts On The Equifax Data Breach

Chances are the data breach announced by Equifax affects you. Hackers were able to access social security numbers, drivers’ license numbers, birthdates, addresses and credit card numbers from about 143 million people. This is a mind-blowing number.

For years, we’ve all been bombarded by ads from the 3 major credit union telling us that we need to purchase credit reports from them and credit monitoring services because all kinds of bad things could happen if our data is stolen. Little did we know, that stolen data would come from them. Maybe it’s not fair to lump all 3 of the companies together. But as we know, we’re judged by the company you keep (I’m a lawyer so I must be an unethical, money-grubbing, bottom feeder who went to law school because I got tired of serving fries).

Equifax has posted an online tool to check if you have been affected. But use this tool with caution. An article has indicated that your individual results may vary if you use it more than once. So if it tells you you’re in the clear, don’t assume you actually are. Likewise, if it says you were part of the breach, don’t panic. No matter what, take prudent steps to protect yourself.

Arbitration

There has been a lot written about Equifax and their arbitration clause. It seems that just by using the tool, you were agreeing to mandatory arbitration. New York’s Attorney General has already expressed his opposition to this clause. Equifax has since clarified that the arbitration clause does not apply to the breach.

An open issue, to me, is what about arbitration clauses for people who are already Equifax customers? Having not seen the agreements, I can’t say for sure whether or not it applies, but I would argue it doesn’t. Sometimes, public policy trumps a contract.

In this case, I think public policy would say that you can’t be forced into binding arbitration for an event that is so outrageous and so injurious that it could never have been contemplated. Especially when there will likely be a question of negligence.

Credit Monitoring

Equifax is also offering a year of free credit monitoring. But beware. Reports indicate that you must sign up with a credit card and you will be automatically renewed when the year is up. (Update: Equifax is no longer requiring a credit card.) This is particularly galling. The idea of credit monitoring is to protect you against a data breach. When the data breach itself is from the company selling credit monitoring, it certainly seems tone-deaf.

My recommendation is to make sure your credit card expires in less than a year. Some credit card companies allow you to create a temporary number that is only good for one use. This service is a great one to use in general if you are worried about your credit card information stolen.

You may already have access to free credit monitoring. Some AAA plans include it as a part of their membership. Some credit card companies also include credit monitoring as a perk. Check with your alumni groups or insurance company to see if it’s a benefit available to you.

Fraud Alert

At a minimum, you should place a fraud alert on your credit file. These are only good for 90 days (they can be renewed), which is not nearly enough time to thwart a potential use of your credit, but it’s long enough to let the dust settle and see what Equifax and the other credit bureaus are going to do. I imagine politicians are going to get involved and there will be many, many lawsuits (Update: And they’ve started piling in).

To place a fraud alert, contact one of the 3 credit bureaus. If you place the alert on one, they are required to notify the other two.

Equifax
P.O. Box 7402741
Atlanta, GA 30374
Report Credit Fraud:
(800) 525-6285
Request Credit Report:
(877) 322-8228
www.equifax.com or https://www.alerts.equifax.com/AutoFraud_Online/jsp/fraudAlert.jsp

TransUnion
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19022
Report Credit Fraud:
(800) 680-7289
Request Credit Report:
(877) 322-8228
www.transunion.com

Experian (TRW)
P.O. Box 2002
Allen, TX 75013
Report Credit Fraud:
(888) 397-3742
Request Credit Report:
(877) 322-8228
www.experian.com

Credit Report

Remember that each of the 3 major credit bureaus must, by law, provide you with a free credit report once a year. More info is available at http://www.annualcreditreport.com.

If you have legal questions about how this data breach may affect you or your business, contact us for a consultation to discuss your concerns.

Principal Office

Saraiya Pllc
Business, Trademark, & Estate Planning Lawyers
7160 Preston Road, Suite 100
Plano, TX 75024
(469) 277-3400
info@saraiyalaw.com

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